Skaife claims 34th pole position at Oran Park
14/8/2004 18:37 (Press Release) -
Veteran Mark Skaife is confident the planets will align tomorrow to provide him with a much sought after victory in round eight of the V8 Supercar Championship at Oran Park Raceway in Sydney.
Skaife claimed the 34th pole position of his career – he is third on the all-time list of drivers starting on the front of the grid to Allan Moffat (39) and Peter Brock (57) – with his Holden Racing Team team-mate Rick Kelly alongside him.
New Zealander Simon Wills continued a dream weekend for Kiwi outfit Team Dynamik. He finished third in practice on Friday and third in qualifying today – his best result in his six-year V8 Supercar career.
For Skaife it was yet another great qualifying performance but he openly admits that converting such early form this season has been a constant struggle.
“It’s been a weird season. I’m pretty sure I not only ran over a Chinaman but backed up over him as well,” said Skaife who is gunning for a fourth Oran Park title in tomorrow’s two 140km races.
“I’m not making any bold predictions. We have been at the front of the grid a few times this year and haven’t gotten a result. I would like to think we can get a result but until the flag drops who knows.”
Wills was again the success story. He sat beside Skaife who has 147 more race wins than his sole victory at Queensland Raceway in 2002.
“I’m rapt,” said Wills.
“It has been a fantastic weekend so far for us. The whole year so far has been a struggle with us posting a good session followed by a bad session. This is all pioneering kind of stuff for us.
“We’ve had all these glimpses this year. When we gel who knows what might happen.”
Another Kiwi racer Jason Richards – a former Team Dynamik driver – registered his best qualifying finish in fourth at his home track. Richards and his Tasman Motorsport team are the only Sydney-based team in the championship.
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